Necklace
by SJAandDWfan
Summary: Clyde gives Rani a necklace for her birthday, but it posesses her. Clyde realises something's wrong, and he needs to figure out who, or what did this. Was it him? Is he posessed too? Or is he just being paranoid. Drama and eventually Raomance ensue. R&R!
1. Shopping Trip

**Long time, no see, eh? Sorry I have been absent from SJA fanfics, but all my time was taken up by my Doctor Who fic, "The Uprising" (nobody's reviewing, by the way!) So this story popped into my head at about one in the morning one day, so I scribbled it down before I forgot it. Here it goes…**

"Wake up, Rani!" Gita's voice pierced the silence in Rani's head.

Rani groaned, and then tossed the covers of her bed back. She groggily rubbed her eyes, trying to remember which day it was. Tuesday, but it was the summer holidays. She checked the time on her phone: Eight in the morning. Pulling on her dressing gown over her pyjamas, she trudged downstairs.

"Are we up, then?" her mother asked her.

"Sort of." Rani replied, yawning. "Mum, it's the holidays, why do I have to get up now?"

She sat down at the table, and perked up slightly as her breakfast was laid down in front of her.

"Because" her father, Haresh, walked into the room, dressed in a suit and tie, "your mother and I are going to a head teachers' conference."

"Again?" Rani asked absentmindedly, as she speared a piece of bacon and started eating.

Her father chose not to answer, as her mother left the room, presumably to change. Instead he said, "You'll have to amuse yourself for the day, I'm afraid."

"No problem." Rani said, thinking of Sarah Jane's house, where she spent most of her time anyway.

Gita reappeared in the kitchen, dressed in a lilac skirt, with a matching top. The effect, once you got over the whole thing, was quite nice, but it wasn't something Rani would be wearing anytime soon.

"Don't forget your birthday tomorrow, love." She said to Rani, as she put in a pair of earrings.

"How could I?" Rani smiled.

Tomorrow, Rani would be eighteen. A few days ago, she had finished school for good. In a week, she would be receiving her A-level results, along with her best friend, Clyde. Then they would probably be going their separate ways. It was a sad thought, but it wasn't like she would never see him or Luke again. There were always the weekends, or web-chatting.

She went upstairs, and pulled on a shirt and a pair of jeans. She brushed her hair, and tied it back in her usual ponytail. Now fully awake, Rani bounded down the stairs.

"Mum? Dad?" she called, but received no answer. They must have already left, she thought. Pulling on some trainers, Rani opened her front door. She stepped outside, and closed the door with a snap. Turning around to face Sarah Jane's house, she took in a lungful of cool, fresh air. Grinning, Rani ran over the road to the massive house that resided there.

The front door opened as soon as Rani knocked, to reveal Sarah Jane Smith.

"Hello, Rani!" she said cheerfully, pulling the younger girl into a hug.

"Good to see you again, Sarah Jane." Rani smiled, as Sarah Jane released her. "Is Clyde here yet?"

"No, not yet." Sarah Jane informed her, "But you know Clyde, he's probably having a lie-in!"

"Yeah." Rani said, climbing the stairs to the attic, "Probably."

However, Clyde was not having a lie-in. He was, very unusually for Clyde, in town, shopping. But Clyde was not shopping for himself. He had been there ever since the shops opened an hour and a half previously, trying to find a birthday present for Rani. He had searched three streets top to bottom, and the best he had seen was a pair of earrings in Claire's that Rani may or may not like. He shivered, despite the warm air, at the memory of being in Claire's.

The place had been full of girls. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but all these girls were giggling at seeing Clyde in there. One exceptionally giggly girl had even asked him, batting her eyelashes, who he was buying a present for.

"For your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Um…not exactly." Clyde had replied, before deciding there were other shops, and leaving none too slowly. A few years ago, Clyde would've made the most of being alone in a shop with several girls, but he had matured considerably over the last year. Being eighteen, he felt a certain responsibility to be faithful. Not that he and Rani were together, but they were as good as, in several of his friends' opinions.

He now made his way down a street that seemed to be very unpromising. The place was all hardware and DYI stores. Somehow, Clyde didn't think Rani would like a Buzz Saw for her birthday. But, nestled in between two large shops, was a small place, called Simply Natural. Intrigued by the small shop, Clyde entered.

A perfumed scent filled the air. The shop was full of necklaces, bracelets, wind-chimes, paintings, and a whole host of other promising things. Making a beeline for the jewellery section, Clyde began searching. The jewellery section took up about half the shop, and Clyde was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of accessories piled on the shelves.

"May I help you?"

Clyde jumped, and turned around. He was face to face with a lady of about sixty, wearing several bangles and bracelets on her bony wrists. Her greying hair was scraped back into a tight bun. Clyde could tell this was the owner of the shop.

"Uh, yeah." He said nervously, "I'm looking for a necklace for my friend."

The owner pursed her lips, thinking.

"Right this way." She said, leading him over to an array of bright necklaces.

"These are necklaces that correspond to birthstones." She pointed to a chart on the wall, where a list of the months was accompanied by a list of stones. Clyde read down the list, looking for the July month. He saw two different stones listed; Ruby and Carnelian.

"Ruby is the modern July birthstone, and Carnelian is the traditional." The owner informed him. Clyde looked for the labelled stones. He saw the deep red of the ruby, and the yellowish-orange of the Carnelian. After some debating inside his head, Clyde settled on a Ruby necklace on a black cord. The woman took it down, put it in a box, and wrapped it carefully.

"That'll be thirty pounds, dear." She said.

"Thirty pounds?" Clyde asked in disbelief.

The woman looked at him with milky-blue eyes. "These necklaces are one of a kind."

Clyde took out his wallet and handed over three ten pound notes. He had been intent on saving for some new art supplies, but they could wait a little longer. The woman handed over the box, but before she released it, she looked him in the eyes.

"It is interesting to see, dear, that the Ruby represents love, passion and success." She smiled, showing yellowing teeth. Clyde had no choice but to look into her eyes.

"Right." He said, a little bewildered.

When the woman released the package, he walked quickly out of the shop, storing the small box under his jacket as he went. It was strange, he thought, but the woman gave him the creeps.

**There, first chapter done. I don't know how long it will be till the next chapter, but that's when Rani's birthday will be. R&R!**

**Oh, by the way, guess who aced her first piece of GCSE English Coursework for Creative Writing last week? Meeee! Full marks, Baby!**


	2. Birthday Gifts

**Before I start this chapter I owe everyone an apology, both for this story and for The Uprising. I know I haven't updated in over a month but I had writer's block, and then school started again. I'm starting my first GCSE year now.**

**So this chapter picks up the next day after chapter 1.**

Clyde snuck out of his house early the next morning. The sun was already in the sky, and the world was peacefully quiet and still. Clyde stood there for a moment, taking it all in; the fresh, crisp smell of the air, and the birds chirping in the trees. Normally, he wouldn't feel moved by all this, but today was special.

He walked down the street, a small, carefully wrapped box stowed beneath his jacket, containing Rani's present. Arriving at the big house he knew to be Sarah Jane's, he quietly walked up the path, and rang the doorbell.

After a minute or two, Sarah Jane pulled the door open, still in her dressing gown and fluffy purple slippers.

"Clyde, it's six in the morning. What are you doing up this early?" she yawned.

"Setting up for Rani's birthday." He replied. You got the decorations yesterday, right?"

Sarah Jane nodded, and let him into the house.

Clyde entered the sitting room, and saw three plastic bags against the wall. Putting the box containing the necklace on one of the comfy chairs by the window, he started to pull various decorations out of the bags.

"You make a start; I'll go and get dressed." Sarah Jane said.

As she left, Clyde couldn't help but let out a snicker. "Nice slippers!" he called after her. She just laughed.

Sarah Jane returned downstairs five minutes later, wearing her usual waistcoat and jeans. What she expected to see was Clyde tangled in the middle of the decorations, unable to escape. However, the sight she met was of the room almost fully decorated, and Clyde's artistic flair had certainly come in useful. Streamers were draped over various pictures and lights on the walls, balloons scattered the floor, and a big 'Happy Birthday' banner was strung over the fireplace.

"How did you do all this in five minutes?" Sarah Jane asked. Clyde grinned.

"I'll call Rani and tell her to head over here in ten minutes." He said, pulling out his phone. But Sarah Jane caught his wrist.

"No." she said, "Let her sleep for now, and then we can head over to her house. Besides, Luke needs time to travel back from Oxford, doesn't he?"

"Luke's coming?" Clyde asked, taken by surprise at seeing one of his best friends again.

"Yes. Didn't I tell you?" Sarah Jane frowned.

"No!" Clyde said, indignantly.

"Well, we can wait here for an hour or so." Sarah Jane said. Sighing, Clyde nodded, and they both went upstairs to pass the time with Mr Smith.

An hour later, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Clyde said.

Bounding down the attic steps, Clyde reached the front door. Opening it, he found himself face to face with Luke.

"Alright, Clyde?" he said, before Clyde pulled him into a hug, clapping him on the back. Sarah Jane descended the stairs behind him, and she too hugged her son.

"Are we all set to go?" Luke asked happily.

"Yep." Sarah Jane said, "We just need to grab the presents."

A few minutes later, Sarah Jane rang the doorbell of number thirty-six. Haresh opened the door.

"Yes?" he said, looking at them.

"Is Rani up?" Clyde asked, "We want to celebrate with her."

"Yes, she's just having breakfast." Haresh said, letting them in.

They found Rani sitting in the kitchen, eating bacon and eggs. Gita was scurrying around the kitchen, and upon catching sight of Sarah Jane, Luke and Clyde, rushed over to them.

"Hello, my darlings!" she exclaimed, enveloping them all in a giant bear hug.

Rani smiled embarrassedly at them. Breaking free of Gita's hug, Clyde and Luke walked over to her.

"Excellent, bacon!" Clyde, who hadn't eaten anything since the previous night, was starving. He nicked one of the rashers on Rani's plate and munched it contentedly. Rani and Gita laughed; Haresh scowled.

Once all the food had been devoured, Sarah Jane brought Rani through to the sitting room, where all the presents lay in a pile.

"Happy birthday, Rani!" Gita said, handing her the first present.

Ten minutes later, all but one of the parcels had been opened. Only Clyde's gift remained. He handed his present over proudly, and Rani saw just how careful he had wrapped it. Gently tugging the wrapping off, she opened the box to reveal the Ruby necklace.

"Wow, Clyde." She said, eyes wide, "It's beautiful!"

Clyde shrugged modestly, but inside was jumping for joy. Even Haresh looked impressed at Clyde's gift to his daughter. Turning around and scooping her hair up, Rani handed the necklace to Clyde. Putting the necklace on, Clyde fixed the cord in place.

The rest of the morning passed in a flurry of excitement, and yet, to Clyde, it felt slightly odd. Rani wasn't completely with it. It was just small things that only Clyde noticed; only a twitch of a smile when he cracked a joke, and she didn't seem as into the party as she had been the previous years.

It was things like this that made Clyde wonder. What was up with Rani, and why was he the only one that noticed?

**Okay, that's chapter 2 of Necklace. Next chapter will have Clyde confronting Rani about her slightly strange behaviour.**


End file.
